


i’ve got nothing to do today, but smile

by azurrys



Category: Infinite (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, M/M, Polyamorous Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-27
Updated: 2014-06-27
Packaged: 2018-02-06 10:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1854697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azurrys/pseuds/azurrys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>That just feels wrong because Dongwoo is a</i> demon <i>and demons should not care whether or not their distinctly human partners are okay or dead. Demons shouldn’t have human partners.</i> Dongwoo is a demon. The others deal. AU. [Dongwoo/Everyone, OT7, minor Woohyun/Key]</p>
            </blockquote>





	i’ve got nothing to do today, but smile

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Simon & Garfunkel, as posted in the [prompt](http://infinitememe.livejournal.com/2786.html?thread=322786#t322786) over on infinitememe. Also, I get so lazy tagging everything. Plus I always feel awkward tagging a pairing when it's super minor (i.e. Woohyun/Key) and yet I feel like I should still tag it because it exists in the story. Eurgh, tagging. /rolls over

Woohyun finds out first.

He doesn’t mean to, not at all. And it doesn’t happen dramatically—Kibum tells him one day, just like that. Woohyun had no idea, until that moment, that he’d been interacting with another demon who wasn’t Kibum in a way that did not involve weapons, salt or incantations. Obviously, nobody else had either.

Woohyun spends long weeks mulling over the question, starting with _should I kill Dongwoo?_ But the thought makes him want to throw up, so he abandons it quickly. His next question is something more along the lines of _why hasn’t he killed me/the rest of us/everyone in the world?_ That one he fails to answer, because Dongwoo is sweet and adorable and so amazing that Woohyun can’t reconcile ‘Dongwoo’ and ‘hurting people’ (let alone ‘demon’). Hell, if Woohyun didn’t know for sure that Kibum never lied, he’d just dismiss the idea as someone screwing with him.

But he can’t. He can’t, so he worries and worries and worries over it until he can’t worry anymore and calls Sunggyu. It takes convincing, but eventually word gets around their little company (aside from Dongwoo, of course) about this new… revelation.

Meet-ups don’t do anything. There isn’t a solution to this. Half of them don’t want to believe it, the rest do but don’t want to hurt Dongwoo—and Woohyun can relate to _that_. But eventually, Sungyeol comes up with the solution that satisfies everyone.

“Well, think about this way,” he cuts in, after Woohyun and Sunggyu are winding down from another heated debate about whether or not Kibum’s actually a reliable source of information. “He hasn’t killed us yet, and he obviously can. So he’s choosing _not_ to kill us, right? So—since it’s worked so far, can’t we just go on doing our thing and, I don’t know…” He shrugs uneasily. “Pretend everything’s normal?”

“How?” Hoya asks incredulously. “He’s a demon!”

“Actually, that just makes Sungyeol’s point more important,” Sungjong replies thoughtfully. “We’ve all known Dongwoo-hyung for years, but he hasn’t hurt us. It’s a good approach. Lie low. Stay normal. And…”

He trails off, glancing around. Sunggyu grimaces; Hoya frowns; Sungyeol looks torn between being satisfied at his support and being horrified; Woohyun doesn’t dare to meet his eye. It’s Myungsoo who finally says it—the first thing he’s said since the beginning of the meeting.

“Keep him happy,” he states simply, and silence falls over the group.

Hoya sighs loudly, saying what they’ve all been thinking. “Well, fuck.”

 

_i. Sunggyu_

Sunggyu has the most difficulty accepting the idea. He just can’t. Dongwoo is—he’s Dongwoo. He’s kind to a fault and gets angry when people are hurt and always finds something to smile about in the worst situation. Of everyone he’s worked with (inside and outside of the group he’s belonged to for years), Dongwoo is undoubtedly his best partner. Besides, what business would a demon have killing other demons and ghosts and monsters?

That’s how he rationalises it, but a couple more jobs and he starts noticing little things about Dongwoo that he didn’t before. Dongwoo’s always up before him; Sunggyu figured it was hyperactivity, but he’s starting to wonder if Dongwoo sleeps at all. He almost never gets hurt, and if he does, whatever hurt him always gets killed in a particularly gruesome way. (If Sunggyu gets hurt, the demon also dies extra horrifically.) When Dongwoo’s angry, the fear that Sunggyu feels is strongly reminiscent of the kind he experiences around other supernatural creatures.

That’s when he starts getting really scared of Dongwoo.

What if one day Dongwoo goes berserk and decides all of them are better off dead? What if he’s actually just biding his time and waiting for a good opportunity to kill them? What if he is evil and keeps them around because he wants to string them along, get their trust, and then turn on them?

He feels terrible thinking these thoughts, especially because Dongwoo sends him worried glances throughout their mission together and won’t stop asking him if he’s feeling okay. That just feels wrong because Dongwoo is a _demon_ and demons should not care whether or not their distinctly human partners are okay or dead. Demons shouldn’t have human partners.

But it gets better. It gets better because he starts adopting Myungsoo’s way of thinking. _Keep him happy._ It’s surprisingly pleasant, making Dongwoo happy. He brightens up like the whole world has gotten better when Sunggyu apologises for being distracted and buys him ice-cream. He hugs Sunggyu extra-enthusiastically when Sunggyu agrees to switch beds with him because his is lumpy. He’s still _Dongwoo_ and that’s the best and worst thing about this, because Sunggyu feels relieved that he’s happy and is also horrified because he’s not doing it for Dongwoo’s sake—he’s doing it as a failsafe so that Dongwoo won’t decide the world isn’t worth living in and destroy it.

But after awhile he stops feeling guilty. Dongwoo’s forgotten he was moody and avoidant for the first half of their time together, and all the little favours Sunggyu does for him, small as they are, seem to make him incredibly happy. Sunggyu likes it when Dongwoo smiles.

Eventually, he stops doing it because he doesn’t want Dongwoo to murder him alive. He starts doing it because he likes seeing Dongwoo happy and the tiniest things do that.

It’s better than tiptoeing around him like a paranoid rabbit, anyway.

 

_ii. Myungsoo_

Conversely, Myungsoo never has a problem accepting it.

Dongwoo’s the same as ever. The next time they meet up, Dongwoo greets him with a huge smile and a hug, just as he always has. Sure, Myungsoo knows he’s a demon now. But Myungsoo knew him as Dongwoo before he knew he was a demon, so why should this new realisation change anything?

Sungyeol calls him stupid and tells him to be careful all in one breath, but Myungsoo’s not scared. He knows Dongwoo—and the Dongwoo he knows would never hurt him.

Dongwoo tells him all about how weird Sunggyu’s acting (“at first he was really jumpy, like something was going to eat him in the middle of the night—although I was on watch!—but then after that he just became kind of apologetic and then he started doing everything he could for me and it’s weird and not like him but it’s nice, Myungsoo, isn’t it nice?”) and gives him all the hugs he wants and torches a zombie when it tries sneaking up behind him. Myungsoo gets a nasty cut right down his stomach in the chaos and Dongwoo’s the one who patches him up, lending him his shirt to stop him from screaming while he stitches up the wound as best as he can.

It’s really nothing they haven’t gone through before.

“Hyung,” he half-whispers, after the ordeal’s over and he’s lying as still as he can, half-regretting saying anything because talking hurts.

“It’s okay, Myungsoo-yah. Don’t talk,” Dongwoo answers gently.

Myungsoo smiles in reply. There’s still more he wants to say— _thank you_ , or _you’re the best_ , or _I love you_ —but he can’t, so he stays quiet. He thinks Dongwoo knows, though.

Human, demon or otherwise, Myungsoo’s absolutely sure of one thing: Dongwoo is amazing. Nothing else really matters.

 

_iii. Sungyeol_

Honestly?

Sungyeol’s scared.

Fine, so he was the first to suggest they pretend that nothing was wrong. That didn’t mean it was any easier for him! It was really fucking hard to even stay remotely normal around Dongwoo. It was like knowing you were hanging out with a bomb that could detonate at will, except it would still be alive at the end and you’d be dead, or exploded, or something.

It’s hard to describe. But anyway, the point is that it’s _hard_. Like, harder than anything Sungyeol has ever tried to do before.

“I’m not really hungry,” he says weakly when Dongwoo asks him why he isn’t eating, and shoves the plate at Dongwoo. “Here, you can have it.”

“I’m too tired, you shower first,” he mumbles into the pillow when they get back to their room after a long, tiring, dirty trek through the woods and all he really wants is a cold shower.

“It’s okay, I’ll do it.” Sungyeol hates interviewing subjects, because he sometimes ends up getting emotional and crying with them (Dongwoo gets emotional, but somehow he always manages not to cry until he’s out of the door) and it’s awkward. But it’s harder having to pay absolute attention to the conversation topic when every time he looks at Dongwoo he can’t help thinking, _oh hey, he’s a demon and he can kill me right now and shove me in the back of the trunk and dump my body in the woods!_ So he just does it.

Dongwoo starts getting really suspicious, though, when Sungyeol volunteers to go out and get food instead of ordering pizza.

“Yeollie, are you feeling okay?” he asks seriously, and Sungyeol nearly chokes at the earnest question. It throws him off when Dongwoo’s nice, damn it, it’s harder to remember he’s a demon when he’s being so—sweet and kind and Dongwoo-ish.

“Yeah, I’m fine, is anything wrong?” he sputters, and Dongwoo’s brow furrows.

“Nothing, just… are you trying to avoid me?” Sungyeol does choke on nothing at that, trying to get away from the conversation topic with a spate of loud coughing. Dongwoo isn’t fooled, though, just continuing while Sungyeol drains a glass of water. “Have I done anything? Did I mess up something of yours? You should tell me if anything’s wrong! You can tell me anything, you know you can,” Dongwoo adds beseechingly, and Sungyeol nearly tries to hit his head against the wall. At least then maybe he’d knock himself out and wouldn’t have to look at (or listen to) Dongwoo acting like a kicked puppy. Never mind that he’s starting to feel guilty.

“It’s nothing, hyung?” he tries again, but Dongwoo obviously isn’t fooled, so Sungyeol desperately tries the first other approach he can think of.

He realises it was a bad idea to kiss Dongwoo when he’s staring into Dongwoo’s wide, startled eyes at incredibly close proximity. But then Dongwoo starts kissing back and—wow.

Sungyeol finds out that Dongwoo is really, really good at kissing. And sex. And that it’s really hard to remember that he’s a demon when he’s fucking Sungyeol so hard Sungyeol can’t even remember his own name.

It’s hard to remember it, too, when Dongwoo is laying next to him with an arm thrown over his shoulders and a bright smile on his face. “I never knew you wanted me that way,” he says, and Sungyeol smiles sheepishly.

“I’m sorry, hyung. I didn’t know how to tell you.” He didn’t know either, actually—not until a few minutes ago. But Dongwoo is really, really, really good in bed, and it’s always been kind of hard to not love him.

“It’s okay,” Dongwoo tells him, nuzzling into his neck, and Sungyeol smiles back. This isn’t so bad.

 

_interlude_

“You slept with him?”

“What the hell, Sungyeol? Are you shitting me?”

“I thought you were with Myungsoo.”

“It was kind of an open relationship, Jjongie.”

“But you don’t sleep with anyone else other than him, right?”

“That’s not the point! He slept with Dongwoo!”

“It was _good_ , Woohyun! Why are you getting so worked up?”

“Because you slept with him!”

“Mostly, but there was that time with Suzy—”

“Myungsoo-yah, this isn’t the time to be discussing that.”

“Sorry, hyung.”

“Sungyeol, what—you—how did it even happen?”

“I already said I don’t know! I just didn’t know what to do, so I kissed him, and everything kind of—you know.”

“So wait, are you together now?”

“No! We just slept together. We’re not together together.”

“Anyway, you have Myungsoo.”

“Hyung! We agreed it was an open relationship. Jjongie understands.”

“Sunggyu-hyung won’t understand no matter how hard you try, Myungsoo. He’s a stick in the mud.”

“What the—say that again, Woohyun, and I’ll—”

“Do you prefer stick up your ass? You have one too.”

“You’re one to talk! You have coffee with a demon every other week! And we’re not talking about me!”

“Yeah, we’re talking about Sungyeol and his inability to keep it in his pants.”

“I already _said_ that—”

“Can we all just calm down?”

Hoya’s voice finally breaks through the chaos, and everyone turns to look at him in unison. He squirms under the sudden attention, but finally manages to say, weakly, “I thought we were having this meeting because I wanted advice on what to do when I see him next week?”

“Sungyeol’s fault,” Woohyun replies immediately, and Sungyeol elbows him in the side.

“Well, what is there to discuss about that?” Sunggyu asks snappily, obviously still annoyed over being told he had a stick up his ass. “We agreed on it already. Treat him normally. Or sleep with him.” He side eyes Sungyeol, who makes a face at him.

“It was really awesome, just so you know,” he retorts. “Dongwoo-hyung is _really_ good with his mouth. And those hips—”

“Okay, okay, we get it, no need to go into detail.” Woohyun glares at Sungyeol.

Hoya gives it up. He’s not getting any advice out of them right now.

 

_iv. Hoya_

In fact, Hoya sincerely regrets having suggested the meeting when he meets up with Dongwoo the week after.

He didn’t get any help out of it. Not one tiny scrap. And now that he knows Sungyeol slept with Dongwoo, he can’t help noticing just how attractive Dongwoo really is. Like that mouth. Hoya’s always known Dongwoo has a large mouth, but now he’s thinking about it in obscene terms (like _fuck, he must be good at blowjobs_ and _it looks so good when he bites down on his bottom lip_ ) and he’s about ready to throw himself in front of a train. Before starting the job, he’d told himself firmly that he would _not_ be awkward with Dongwoo—he’d treat him as normally as possible because Dongwoo was a really good friend, and he didn’t want anything to get in the way of that relationship.

But now something has. Just not what he thought would.

Dongwoo being a demon is really, really unimportant suddenly, in the face of thoughts like shoving Dongwoo against a wall to kiss him senseless or bending him over the hood of the car and fucking him. Now he’s losing track of what Dongwoo says because he’s too focused on the way he laughs (free and happy and so cute Hoya wants to kiss him even more) and he’s even a bit distracted when they’re on the job together because Hoya had never noticed how good Dongwoo looked in a suit. It’s terrible and kind of wonderful except the thought of asking Dongwoo to help him out with his hard-on at the end of day is just plain scary. It’s not about him being a demon, not really, more about the fact that they’ve always been just friends and it would mess everything up if he did that.

But Dongwoo finds out anyway. He somehow gets to know—how, Hoya has no idea. All he knows is that when he’s jerking off in the shower one night, Dongwoo walks in without knocking. And he means _right_ in. Right into the shower next to him. Everything just spirals downwards from there.

Sungyeol’s right. Dongwoo is really, really good at it. Hoya gets to find out first-hand, and it’s probably the best night of his life.

He doesn’t get to do everything he wants to Dongwoo before the job’s over. But by the end of it, he’s come to terms with the fact that sleeping with Dongwoo actually doesn’t mess up their friendship. In fact, it’s even nicer now because he doesn’t just get smiles in return for anything he does, he gets a kiss (and a lot more than a kiss sometimes). He makes a mental note to not get the car towed next time before he gets to do anything to Dongwoo in it.

 

_v. Sungjong_

Sungjong thinks over the revelation calmly and carefully. He can’t say he expected a development like this—after all, the only examples he has for demons are the creatures he’ll kill without a second thought and Woohyun’s friend Key, and Dongwoo resembles neither. He’s not an entitled jerkass. He’s not a crazy murderer (not that Sungjong knows of, anyway). He’s not a prankster with a weird sense of humour. He’s not even a diva. But Sungjong has learned that nothing is sacred in the life he’s living, and he’s learned to accept and expect the unexpected. It was bad enough finding out demons even existed.

Dongwoo turns up to their meet-up spot with a huge smile and loads of enthusiasm, and Sungjong’s not really surprised. Dongwoo regales him (relatively shamelessly) with just how much fun it was on the job with Hoya, and Sungjong listens, amused. It hadn’t taken him long to jump on the bandwagon Sungyeol started.

In hindsight, Sungjong thinks it was actually a pretty good idea. Sungyeol’s hardly a genius, but sometimes his ideas work out in amazing ways—even the ones that sound stupid at first. Sungjong wouldn’t have endorsed sleeping with Dongwoo in the normal way, but it definitely seems to be a good method in practice.

“…Chocolate sauce, Jjongie! He has the best ideas! Don’t you think so?” Dongwoo finishes happily, and Sungjong smiles back.

“He does,” he agrees. “But I think I have a better idea. It’ll match up, I’m sure.”

Dongwoo leans forward immediately, eyes wide with interest, and Sungjong smirks a little as he sidles closer to whisper in Dongwoo’s ear. He didn’t plan for this, but never let it be said that he’s not flexible. Anyway, Dongwoo is obviously telling him his conquests intentionally, and what other intention is there except for the one he’s thinking of?

That, and he really wants to find out just how good Dongwoo is in bed.

 

_vi. Woohyun_

Woohyun makes enough excuses that by the time he has to work with Dongwoo again, Dongwoo’s made a full round of the rest of their group, and—as far as Woohyun knows—slept with everyone. Even Sunggyu, the loser. Woohyun just knew he wouldn’t last long against Dongwoo.

So now it’s just him left.

It’s hard even looking at Dongwoo now. It’s weird, because Woohyun isn’t at all scared of Kibum. It’s probably because he’s so used to him, and he knows (is pretty sure, anyway) that Kibum won’t kill him as long as he doesn’t mortally offend him. But Dongwoo is uncharted territory, in that sense. Woohyun knows, theoretically, that Dongwoo probably won’t hurt him—he’d be long dead if Dongwoo wanted that. He’s gone over that a thousand and one times by now. But it doesn’t stop him from being uneasy around Dongwoo.

Woohyun loves him. He really does. Dongwoo is an amazing person (demon?). He’s always been there when Woohyun needs a shoulder to lean on or a willing ear to hear him out. But it’s not the same anymore. Woohyun knows, obviously, that not all demons are bad. Or not all bad, because he’s pretty sure Kibum does plenty of unspeakable things—Woohyun just doesn’t know or want to know about them.

That’s what scares him about Dongwoo, really. That he’s sweet and kind, but if Woohyun turns his back, he might act just like any other demon he’s hunted and he’d be none the wiser. That Woohyun and the others are only around because he likes them, so he doesn’t kill them (like how Kibum treats him). He’s already friends with a demon who doesn’t really hide that fact—which makes it more acceptable, somehow—but he’s now also friends with a demon who’s pretending not to be, and it’s terrifying.

Dongwoo’s worried about him. He keeps feeling his forehead and asking him if he’s feeling sick, or needs a rest, or if Dongwoo should take over his watch. Woohyun feels terrible, because Dongwoo’s his _friend_ and he’s thinking awful thoughts about him practically all the time, but Dongwoo’s still concerned about him. It makes it so much worse.

“I’m really okay, hyung,” he repeats for the millionth time, and Dongwoo just looks even more worried.

Woohyun never actually thought he’d end up borrowing one of Sungyeol’s methods. Even the situation fits it to a T. But obviously, he’s desperate enough that just about anything except talking about his concerns is better—so he just goes for it and grabs Dongwoo, kissing him with all the force and pent-up frustration of tiptoeing around him for the past week (and all the months before that after he found everything out).

It’s good (nobody was kidding, ever, when they talked about Dongwoo’s bedroom skills), but Woohyun’s still distracted. And it’s only when he feels Dongwoo brushing his tears away and whispering soft reassurances that he realises just how much everything’s been bothering him. And it’s embarrassing, fuck it all, but he ends up clinging to Dongwoo long after they’re done and he’s out of an excuse.

“What’s bothering you?” Dongwoo asks softly, and Woohyun just shakes his head. _Nothing I can tell you._

“I won’t tell anyone. I promise.” Dongwoo sounds so sincere that Woohyun has to blink away tears again. He’s not helping. He’s being everything a demon shouldn’t be when he’s a demon and that just makes Woohyun even more scared. That demon nature has to go _somewhere_.

Dongwoo kisses him again, long and slow and sweet, and Woohyun kisses back desperately. Anything that’s not talking. But Dongwoo pulls away again, and adds, “Is it about Sunggyu-hyung? Did you have a fight or something?”

Woohyun shakes his head again. Dongwoo sighs, frowning. “Sungyeol, then?”

“It’s not anyone, Dongwoo. It’s nothing.” His voice is hoarse and a little choked up when he says the words. He’s not fooling anyone, he knows.

“But it’s bothering you, Woohyun! That’s not nothing.” Dongwoo strokes his hair lightly, staring at him in that imploring way, and Woohyun feels like breaking down. “Just tell me. Please? I really, really won’t tell anyone.”

Woohyun opens his mouth to lie again—pretend he’s fine and everything’s okay—when he blurts out, “You’re a demon.”

Oh, _fuck_.

Dongwoo stares at him with wide eyes, and Woohyun’s staring right back, breath caught in his throat as his mind starts running through the various ways Dongwoo can kill him right now, when Dongwoo sighs, eyes sad. “I know, Woohyunnie.”

Woohyun stills completely at that. What? What the fuck does that even mean? He knows? Of course he knows, right? Can one be a demon without knowing? Can he even—

“I didn’t dare to tell you all. I’m sorry.” Dongwoo sounds so incredibly apologetic—and almost like he’s going to cry himself—that Woohyun finds himself pulling him close without a second thought. Dongwoo snuggles in with a sniff, burying his face in Woohyun’s neck. “I didn’t want you to be scared of me. I love you all, I really do! I just want you to be happy. I didn’t want it to turn out like this.”

Woohyun’s heart sinks completely at how unhappy Dongwoo sounds. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt guiltier in his life. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_ , why did Kibum ever tell him Dongwoo was a demon?

“I’m sorry.” Dongwoo’s never sounded more serious. “I—I understand if you guys don’t like it. I honestly, seriously do. I won’t bother you anymore if that’s the case. I’ll just go. I really will.”

Oh, fuck. Dongwoo’s pulling away. Woohyun’s barely aware of what he’s doing, only that Dongwoo sounds unhappy and there’s nothing, _nothing_ in the world worse than that. The next thing he knows, Dongwoo is gasping into his mouth and Woohyun’s clinging to him even tighter now, because he _can’t_ let Dongwoo go like that—he just can’t.

Why does it fucking matter that he’s a demon? He’s Dongwoo. He’d never hurt anyone, no matter what. Woohyun trusts that of him. He breaks the kiss reluctantly when the need to breathe becomes too insistent, but immediately leans in again, pressing Dongwoo’s forehead to his. “No,” he whispers. “ _I’m_ sorry. I’m sorry, Dongwoo, I was just—I was scared, but I shouldn’t have been, I know you’d never hurt me.” _You’d never hurt anyone._

Dongwoo brightens a little at that, and Woohyun feels a tiny smile pulling at his lips—the first real smile since he found out about Dongwoo, possibly. “It’s okay,” he says softly, but he’s confident now. How could he ever have thought that about Dongwoo? “I love you too. We all love you. So don’t go, okay?” His words fall into a whisper, but Dongwoo hears him anyway. Woohyun’s relieved when he leans back in for another kiss, hooking a leg around Woohyun.

“Okay,” he says simply, and Woohyun feels his spirits lift.

“I love you,” he repeats, and Dongwoo laughs.

“I know, Woohyunnie. You said so already.”

“But I want to say it again.” _And again, and again, and again._ “It doesn’t matter what you are at all. We’ll love you no matter what. I’ll love you.”

“You’re so greasy,” Dongwoo answers with a grin, and Woohyun laughs, giving him a shove that quickly evolves into a wrestling match and ends with Dongwoo kissing him again, arms wrapped tightly around him.

It’s like everything’s fallen into place now. For the first time in months, Woohyun feels calm and happy and, in a way, content. Finally, finally he’s come to terms with all of it—with Dongwoo being what he is, but also who he is. Woohyun feels like he’s never been happier in his life.

“I love you,” he says again, and the words seem to draw everything together, settling over them. Everything’s changed, but nothing has. Dongwoo laughs again, eyes crinkling, and before Woohyun knows, he finds himself laughing right along with him.

 

_vii. Dongwoo_

“I really don’t understand,” Key starts disdainfully, “why you take _decaf_.”

“Caffeine’s bad for you,” Dongwoo says severely. “Remember that I told you? That one time, Sungyeol drank too much coffee—”

Key waves off the statement impatiently. “I’ve heard that one a dozen times. You’re always going on and on about your slaves.”

“Well, you always are too!”

“But it’s about the fun parts, at least. All you talk about is their habits and mannerisms and things like that—and you don’t employ any fun methods at all.” Key heaves a huge sigh, taking a deep drink from his cup. “Isn’t it a bother having to maintain them like that? Just whip them into obedience.”

Dongwoo wrinkles his nose. “They listen better when they’re willing, you know that. I like taking that kind of trouble. It’s so much safer, and they like me more, and everyone’s happy!”

“Even though they know you’re keeping them as slaves.”

“They know that I’m a _demon_ ,” Dongwoo corrects. “The slave part is just terminology. It’s not important.”

“What do they think they are, then? Your boytoys?” Key asks, sounding bored.

“No! Lovers, technically? In human terms. Though yeah, they are my slaves, pretty much.” Key snorts, and Dongwoo flicks an impatient hand at him. “Don’t distract me! You just don’t agree with the way I do things. It works really well, you know. The sex is better too,” he adds wickedly, and Key rolls his eyes.

“Is that a challenge? I can compare stories.”

“No,” Dongwoo answers feelingly. “I don’t want to hear what you made your poor slaves do to you or for you or to each other. _Your_ methods are the ones that are no fun. It’s way more effective to keep them happy.”

“Are you so sure about that?” Key leans in, giving Dongwoo his sweetest smile. “If you are, you know that my… offer is still open. Just lend Woohyun to me for a week and—”

“ _No_ , nonono, you slave thief. Woohyun is _mine_! You can find your own slaves!” Dongwoo proclaims, glaring as vehemently as he can at Key—but it’s not quite threatening enough, because Key just snorts defiantly.

“Only because he hasn’t seen my side of the fence. The grass is greener and all that, isn’t it? And anyway, you’re perfectly confident that your methods work, so a week won’t matter, will it?”

“Your methods work too,” Dongwoo cuts in earnestly. “I never said they didn’t! But Woohyun is mine, you hear that? He’s _my_ slave. He’s one of my favourite slaves, you know. A week with you will probably be enough to traumatise him! He’ll come back scarred for life and completely changed and—”

“You’re just afraid I’ll steal him for good.”

“That, too. He has it so bad for you.” Dongwoo’s voice is a mixture between affection and irritation. “You’ve slept with him before, haven’t you?”

“He was very, very eager, and I had no reason to turn him down. But don’t worry; it was a long time ago. He’s a very faithful… _lover_ to you.”

“Yeah, and you’re a lust demon. And here you wonder why I won’t let you take him for a week. I’d never get him back, you cheater.”

“Not my fault if humans are weak.”

“Just drink your coffee, Key.”  



End file.
